Fancy a show? Neo-Nazi concerts in Germany

Music has long been a key factor in spreading neo-Nazi ideology, serving both as a tool to attract (young) people and to reproduce identities of those already part of the scene/movement. Indeed, it is through music that the extreme right has voiced its ideas, including racism and xenophobia, othering of ‘internal enemies’, antisemitism as well as historical revisionism, and it has long helped to convey knowledge about what it is to be a neo-Nazi. Much more, music is not simply a site of political agitation, but a lifestyle element which addresses its audience via an affective component.

Consequently, it is no surprise that claims such as that by the lead singer of the popular German neo-Nazi band FLAK, that ‘music is the best leaflet’, have circulated at least since Ian Stuart Donaldson and his band Skrewdriver became popular in the 1980s. Back then, the West German extreme-right music scene was rather small, but since the 1990s, it has grown substantially. It is especially since the 1990s that white power music has evolved, a change particularly associated with the band Landser. Landser was ultimately forbidden in 2003/05 (it became a ‘criminal association’), but has become a collective point of reference – and its well-known singer, Michael Regener, is still active with Die Lunikoff Verschwörung. And Die Lunikoff Verschwörung is in no way alone. While there is also, for example, neo-Nazi versions of rap and black metal, neo-Nazi rock has largely dominated in Germany, including acts such as Confident of Victory, Die Lunikoff Verschwörung, FLAK, Frontalkraft, Sleipnir and Stahlgewitter. Indeed, white power rock (Rechtsrock) has helped German neo-Nazis to claim attractiveness, even vis-à-vis other extreme-right actors such as the Identitarian movement.

Yet, it is not only recordings which are relevant: concerts too have proliferated, offering opportunities to live and enjoy neo-Nazism, but also to network and to earn money. In a previous contribution to CARR, Rob May carved out the transnational dimension of white power music in particular. In this latest CARR blog, I will follow up on this, focusing on some recent developments concerning neo-Nazi concerts in Germany.

Rock gegen Überfremdung II from above. Image taken from http://www.frontmagazin.de/magazin/?p=688

As mentioned above, these events facilitate not only the exchange of ideas and networking, but they also generate considerable income. The latter is particularly visible in the case of movement entrepreneurs such as the above mentioned Frenck and Patrick Schröder.[1] For example, Frenck’s Rock gegen Überfremdung II reportedly resulted in a net profit of up to €200.000. This, however, has also led to criticism from within. Following Rock gegen Überfremdung II, one of the three German neo-Nazi parties currently making headlines (Der III. Weg, The III. Way), more precisely: one of its Stützpunkte (bases), issued a statement in which the gathering of ‘consumption- and scene-zombies’ is harshly condemned. The authors feel ashamed that ‘these people [i.e. the revellers] place themselves on the same level with our upright ancestors’ and, consequently, call for a separation of scene from political movement.

Others, for example those from the neo-Nazi party Die Rechte (The Right), have a more positive perception of such events and acknowledge music’s significance for the ‘pre-political space’. In the party’s review of Tage der nationalen Bewegung, Die Rechte acknowledges that ‘certainly not everyone present was primarily politically interested but maybe simply wanted to spend a nice evening with his [sic] favourite music’. Given the benefits these events carry for the extreme right and the fact that opportunities for such events arise from democracy’s very core, that is, the right to assembly (these events are registered as political rallies, featuring speeches by activists as well as bands playing their music), concerts and entire festivals are unlikely to stop being organised in the face of protests by purists. Given that civil society too faces difficulties in being mobilised in small towns like Themar, as well as the entire region, it is rather through legal means (for example to protect breeding animals and due to a lack of approval by all owners of the respective area) that events, for example in the case of the aforementioned Rock gegen Überfremdung III, can be prevented. Suggestions to restrict the right to assembly itself have been rejected.

Those who have not just listened to music but have experienced it live know of the impact this can have, and Rechtsrock events are not different. It is through such events, that those not yet part of the scene/movement can get in contact with those inside by simply buying a ticket. In fact, these occasions provide significant sites for experiencing community, covering a range of subcultural and lifestyle aspects, such as, besides music, Mixed-Martial-Arts events, vegan cuisine and tattoo conventions. Given the increased professionalization of these events and their organisers, therefore, these events are unlikely to lose steam by themselves and are therefore likely to inculcate more potential recruits into the German right-wing extremist fold in the years to come.

Dr. Bernhard Forchtner is a Senior Fellow at CARR, and a Lecturer in Media and Communication at the University of Leicester. See his profile here.

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The Centre for Analysis of the Radical Right (CARR) will be the leading information aggregator and knowledge repository on the radical right, past and present. Above all, CARR intends to lead discussion on the development of radical right extremism around the world.